'Joe the Plumber' lands book deal

[Niels Bohr 72]

The man who shot to fame in the recent US presidential election as "Joe the Plumber" is set to become "Joe the Published" after signing a book deal.

Samuel Wurzelbacher's book, Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream, will address his ideas about American values, his publisher says.

Mr Wurzelbacher sprang to fame when he challenged President-elect Barack Obama about his tax proposals in October.

He said he had chosen a small publisher in order to help "spread the wealth".

The term is a reference to the phrase used by Mr Obama when responding to a question from Mr Wurzelbacher about raising taxes for people who earn more than $250,000 (£166,000) a year.

The Republican candidate, Senator John McCain, later used the term in an effort to discredit Mr Obama's tax policies, and gave Mr Wurzelbacher a starring role in his campaign rallies and debates.

'Not cashing in'

Just days before the election, Mr Wurzelbacher insisted he would not seek to "cash in" on his fame with a lucrative book deal from a major publisher.

Everyone came at me to write a book - they had dollar signs in their eyes

Samuel Wurzelbacher

"Everyone came at me to write a book. They had dollar signs in their eyes," he told Fox News.

"You know I will get behind something solid, but I won't get behind fluff. I won't cash in, and when people do read the book they will figure out that I didn't cash in. At least I hope they figure that out."

The plumber-turned-election-fixture also told Fox that he was short on cash and unemployed.

"I got no financial offers. I am broke," he added.

The terms of the book deal with Texas-based PearlGate Publishing have not been revealed, but the publisher said paperback copies would go on sale at $14.95 (£10) in the US on 1 December.

The deal is not likely to come close to the $7m (£4.65m) figure rumoured to be on offer for a book by the former Republican vice-presidential hopeful, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Mr Wurzelbacher's book is being co-written by Thomas Tabback, the author of the only other book so far published by PearlGate.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7739373.stm

Published: 2008/11/20 12:48:33 GMT

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

U mean this book hasn't been printed yet? Have I been deceived??

[almaty 19]

good..he can pay his back taxes to the state of ohio..

i am sure that is one of his values..tax cheating 101

[웃 910]

[Niels Bohr 72]

I wish Palin had that body.

[1HappyGuy 45]

Yeah, Joe the Plumber wants to cash in, while saying he's not going to cash in. I want to know how an unlicensed plumber was going to buy his bosses business and then make over $250K a year in taxable income. It seems that this guy has pipe dreams without the benefit of a little reality. He owes his new found fame to McCain not Obama. It was McCain that made him an issue. Maybe he'll get Palin to pose on the cover in a swimsuit and boost the sales. Then he can complain about paying high taxes if he's lucky. That is of course after paying off back taxes.

Is this guy for real?

[ScratchIt 12]

U mean this book hasn't been printed yet? Have I been deceived??

[Sister Fracas 5]

oh.what.a.surprise...

[ScratchIt 12]

Yeah, Joe the Plumber wants to cash in, while saying he's not going to cash in. I want to know how an unlicensed plumber was going to buy his bosses business and then make over $250K a year in taxable income. It seems that this guy has pipe dreams without the benefit of a little reality. He owes his new found fame to McCain not Obama. It was McCain that made him an issue. Maybe he'll get Palin to pose on the cover in a swimsuit and boost the sales. Then he can complain about paying high taxes if he's lucky. That is of course after paying off back taxes.

Is this guy for real?

He's not only for real - he has close connections to Charles Keating! Remember him?

Link

Link

Link

[Amby 490]

oh.what.a.surprise...

yeah no sh*t

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Wait. He can write????????????

[Amby 490]

Wait. He can write????????????

plumbers are very diverse

[caybee 21]

Wait. He can write????????????

I'm guessing the "coauthor" will do much all of the writing, seeing how the paperback is due to hit the shelves in 11 days.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Wait. He can write????????????

No - as is customary with these things they'll get some freelance ghost-writer or an in-house editor to write it (for peanuts), and Joe will get a royalty check for having his name on the cover.

I love that he's saying he's not cashing in when that's exactly what he's doing. I suspect the truth is that the big publishers probably didn't offer him a whole lot of money.

[Sister Fracas 5]

Wait. He can write????????????

No - as is customary with these things they'll get some freelance ghost-writer or an in-house editor to write it (for peanuts), and Joe will get a royalty check for having his name on the cover.

I love that he's saying he's not cashing in when that's exactly what he's doing. I suspect the truth is that the big publishers probably didn't offer him a whole lot of money.

It's more money than the rest of us are getting for being nobodies...